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Let's assume the officials do have more information than we do and have a back-up plan. That doesn't necessarily mean we need to push to that point. There are more important things than having the best lawn. If folks who are new to the area don't know the rules, then perhaps the management companies running the subdivisions should send out an informational brochure for people to follow. Then if they get repeat offenders, make the consequences higher before they reach the third offense. There is a water shortage all over this country and people need to wake up and pay attention. Do we really want to have officials wait until Jan 20th to advise that there are only a few more days of water left? Everyone, no matter where they live, should have the same regulations governing. Handing out permits to seed new lawns now is irresponsible at the very least.
If they are giving permits, that tells me that our officials do not believe the water shortage is serious enough to warrant not giving out the permits. They have all the facts...we don't. They know how much water is left, what the expected precipitation forecasts are, what the current consumption levels are, what options they can impose if the drought gets worse, backup plans in a worst-case scenario (like pulling water from other sources), etc.... And their data seems to be quite detailed (e.g. the day we'll run out of water if it never rains again, the current consumption rate, the expected consumption rates through the rest of the year, etc...) We need to stop second-guessing them. In my opinion, they seem to be doing a very good job at managing the water.
I for one will stop second or third guessing them when I see them take the drought and its consequences with more priority than maintaining growth. IMHO growth has precedence over everything else in this area. Appears to me water quantity, schools, or environmental issues come in behind maintaining growth.
Dansdrive--I agree that they aren't taking the drought seriously enough. It took them FOREVER to enact stage 1 restrictions. They should have done something much sooner.
It amazes me that everybody (the city and the media) is so surprised that our water usage keeps going up every year. HELLO! When you keep approving new subdivisions/growth, your water usage is going to go up each year.
I live in Bedford and I'm honestly surprised to read of all the violations on Bedfordtown. I've not seen anybody watering when they shoudn't be. Did WRAL publish the list of offenders? I think there might be some brand new homes on the far end of Bedfordtown that I don't drive on. Maybe its builders or new homowners trying to maintain the sod? It costs a lot of money to resod so they may be trying to preserve their investment. Doesn't make it right, but more understandable than somebody who has an established lawn.
It seems like it might be a good time for area turf experts to start speaking out about the benefits of some other grass types like centipede and zoysia. While fescue is hard to beat for its lush green carpet, it simply does not tolerate our hot summer weather and requires copious amounts of water. There are a number of HOAs (mine included) who have threatened to take action against some homeowners that have plugged their yards w/ some of the more heat tolerant grasses and done away w/ the fescue. That's simply not going to help anything.
It seems like it might be a good time for area turf experts to start speaking out about the benefits of some other grass types like centipede and zoysia. While fescue is hard to beat for its lush green carpet, it simply does not tolerate our hot summer weather and requires copious amounts of water. There are a number of HOAs (mine included) who have threatened to take action against some homeowners that have plugged their yards w/ some of the more heat tolerant grasses and done away w/ the fescue. That's simply not going to help anything.
there's already a very good (and extensive) thread about this:
I am on the phone right now trying to get a 'reseed' watering permit and they are not allowing it. They are saying that it is strictly for new homes where a Certificate of Occupancy is required.
We had an issue about 2 or three years ago with a landscaper putting down a seed mix instead of fescue seed on some repair spots in our yard. We now have bermuda grass all throughout our front yard and it is spreading to our neighbors' yards. We completely killed our grass in the front yard in the spring and reseeded. Of course even before the major drought happened the seeding wasn't working. So we planned on doing it again in the fall. In the meantime, water restrictions went in place and when I just called the city about a permit they said no.
Does anybody actually know somebody who has gotten a permit for residential 'reseeding' that wasn't tied to a brand new home/CO?
In Cary, which has had the every-other-day restrictions for years, you can get a 3-wk reseed permit easily online, even now. Raleigh, with Falls Lake, apparently has much more issues with the drought than a lot of places.
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reseed permit
